Mariko Okada

Kijû Yoshida: What Is a Filmmaker? (2008)

An overview of the life and work of legendary Japanese filmmaker Kijû Yoshida, a notable figure of the Japanese New Wave. ...

My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? (2005)

A.D. 2015: A virus has been spreading in many cities worldwide. It is a suicidal disease and the virus is infected by pictures. People, once infected, come down with the disease, which leads to death. They have no way of fighting against this infection fil ...

Hakuro no Shibijin (2004)

The wife of a famous resident of Kamakura awakens to carnal passion . . . And when her blood cools down it's because she's been murdered! ...

Women in the Mirror (2003)

Three women who share memories of the Hiroshima disaster try to uncover the hidden family ties that may or may not bind them together. ...

Young Madam's Interference in a Homicide (2000)

Nami, the young madam of a well-established hot spring hotel in Kotohira, is reunited with her childhood friend Kana who has come to participate in an art auction. However, when people with links to the auction start getting killed one after another, Nami ...

The Geisha House (1999)

Set in a Kyoto geisha house during the post-WWII era, the young Omocha begins her rigorous apprenticeship within the traditional community of geiko and maiko. She must navigate complex internal rivalries and a strict social hierarchy while the house strugg ...

The Young Mistress Plays Detective in the Spa Murder (1998)

Akane is the young mistress of Notoraku Inn in Ishikawa Prefecture. She is trained by her mother-in-law, Takako, daily. One day, as Yohei, Akane's husband, and Takako are on their way to a friend's wedding, Rekiko, Yohei's childhood friend, confesses her f ...

1750 Days of Turbulence (1990)

After the death of previous Boss, a gang war lasts for more than four years. ...

A Taxing Woman (1987)

Intrepid tax investigator Ryoko Itakura sets her sights on the mysterious and philandering Hideki Gondo, a suspected millionaire and proprietor of a thriving chain of seedy hourly hotels, who has for years succeeded at hiding the true extent of his assets ...

Eavesdropping Woman (1986)

Yoko Shintani, an instructor at an aerobics school, secretly enjoys eavesdropping on the rooms next door. She eavesdrops on the frequent comings and goings of men by her neighbor, the model Reiko Saegusa. She relieves her frustrations as she is approaching ...

Tampopo (1985)

In this humorous paean to the joys of food, a pair of truck drivers happen onto a decrepit roadside shop selling ramen noodles. The widowed owner, Tampopo, begs them to help her turn her establishment into a paragon of the "art of noodle-soup making". Inte ...

Appassionata (1984)

This story is based on the novel "Jo no mai" by Tomiko Miyao which is based on the life of painter Shōen Uemura (1875–1949), the first woman to be awarded the Order of Culture. The title refers to the masterpiece bijinga ("picture of a beautiful woman") ...

I Lived, But... (1983)

An extremely lovely tribute to Ozu, on the 20th anniversary of his death. It uses a combination of footage from vintage films and new material (both interviews and Ozu-related locations) shot by Ozu's long-time camera-man (who came out of retirement to wor ...

Domineering (1982)

When the patriarch of Japan's most powerful yakuza family is shot, his wife is left to pick up the pieces and carry on the legacy. ...

The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi (1979)

Obayashi's take on the famous Kosuke Kindaichi series, made popular partly thanks to the numerous movie-adaptions by Kon Ichikawa, the most known being The Inugami Family. Kosuke Kindaichi is the most famous detective in Japan. Kindaichi gets a new case to ...

The Fall of Ako Castle (1978)

This is the story of "The Forty-Seven Ronin." Based on historical events in 1701-2, the movie tells the tale of the Asano clan's downfall and the revenge of its former samurai on the perpetrator of the catastrophe. Lord Asano was goaded, or tricked, into d ...

Proof of the Man (1977)

When an American is murdered in a Japanese inn, Tokyo police detective Munesue follows the trail of the killer to New York. There he is joined by a New York City detective named Shuftan and together they sort out the crime. ...

Japanese Humanity and Justice (1977)

When a mob boss retires under political pressure, his successor and yakuza family are tested to their limits as new alliances and enemies are formed. ...

Niizuma no shitatari (1976)

Nikkatsu Roman Porno ...

Frozen River (1976)

A young doctor starts working at a mental hospital in the Yokohama region and falls in love with one of the patients there. ...

I Am a Cat (1975)

Nakadai is an English teacher at a local school. He's put-upon like the patron figure of dozens of films and televisions shows. Viewers who are especially fans of Nakadai will appreciate how the actor comically rants about here. His home life is almost dis ...

Cross-Currents (1972)

A ryokan maid is on trial for pushing a familiar guest off a cliff to his death. An eager attorney offers to take the case to gain notoriety. ...

Confessions Among Actresses (1971)

In this intricately layered Japanese film, the nature of actresses and what they gain from acting is explored. The lives of three actresses are laid bare, and scenes from their lives are woven in and out of interviews with each of them. Each of them has ex ...

Price of Life (1971)

Comedy of a phony doctor. ...

Waterfront Blues (1970)

Based on Shinichi Mori song ...

Heroic Purgatory (1970)

Rikiya Shoda is an engineer working for the Atomic Agency in Japan. One day, his wife Nanako returns home with a lost teenager called Ayu. A man, pretending to be the father, comes to get her back; Ayu keeps telling him that Rikiya and Nanako are her paren ...

Eros + Massacre (1969)

Two interwoven stories. The first is a biography of anarchist Sakae Osugi which follows his relationship with three women in the 1920s. The second centers around two 1960s students researching Osugi's theories. ...

Farewell to the Summer Light (1968)

A spontaneous romance blooms between Kawamura, a professor touring Europe, and Naoko, a married woman living in Paris, scarred by the Nagasaki atomic bombings. The two protagonists travel around Europe trying to find themselves. ...

The Time of Reckoning (1968)

"The Time of Reckoning" transforms a screwball-comedy plot into a sober study of a successful businessman with serious relationship problems involving three women: his wife of ten years who announces she is pregnant by another man; a mistress who wants to ...

Affair in the Snow (1968)

In an isolated mountain resort, a woman gets involved in a love triangle between herself, her volatile lover and her ex-boyfriend, for whom she had platonic feelings. ...

Impasse (1967)

Shingo and Ritsuko have a baby: Takashi. They happen to be a happy couple, but soon Ritsuko wants to know who is the true father of Takashi, born by artificial insemination. ...

The Affair (1967)

As a young woman, Oriko condemned her widowed mother for openly pursuing relationships with younger men. After her mother passes away, she finds herself in an unhappy, loveless marriage and begins to understand her mother's actions. ...

Two Wives (1967)

After a random encounter at a bar, two couples collide. Two men, two women, embroiled in a love-and-hate drama that threatens to engulf them. The sexual anxiety between the interwoven couples tautens right up to the nearly unbearable tension of the climax. ...

Woman of the Lake (1966)

A married woman lets her lover take naked pictures of her. The photos end up in possession of a man who starts blackmailing the couple. ...

A Story Written with Water (1965)

Struggling with his true emotions, dreams, memories of the past and the reality Shizuo is about to marry, but is torn between his wife-to-be and the love to his mother. ...

Illusion of Blood (1965)

The ghost of a samurai's wife takes revenge on her husband. ...

The Radish and the Carrot (1965)

One day a company executive learns that his younger brother, whom he recommended, embezzled company funds. To save the situation he withdraws his life savings and gives money to his younger brother. ...

The Scent of Incense (1964)

After her mother runs away from home, Tomoko is raised to be a geisha. One day Tomoko meets her mother in a red-light district in Tokyo and her life deeply gets in trouble. ...

Tale of Scarlet Love (1963)

Assistant Police Inspector Saburo Tatsuno, a former jazz pianist, is assigned to uncover a narcotics ring. But he falls victim to the seductive wiles of Maki, the beautiful night club singer and one of the leaders of the ring. One by one, Maki's discarded ...

Double Wedding (1963)

Futari dake no toride (1963)

Futari dake no toride ...

Escape from Hell (1963)

This suspense drama set in the mid 1700's depicts the plan of the Tokugawa rulers to send a number of homeless men to a remote island Sado to perform forced labor. Living conditions on the island are terrible and the men soon become rebellious. Based on a ...

Sing, Young People! (1963)

A story about four best friends and their lives inside and outside college. Then suddenly one of them receives a surprising offer to be a movie star. ...

An Autumn Afternoon (1962)

Widower Shuhei Hirayama's caretaker is his 24-year-old daughter, Michiko. Gradually, he comes to realize that Michiko should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her. ...

Zoku aizen katsura (1962)

1962 Japanese movie ...

Records of loyal vassals (1962)

In the 15th year of the Genroku era (1688), the world praised the 47 ronin who avenged the death of their master Asano Takumi-no-kami. Shogun Tsunayoshi, who ruled at that time, experienced difficulties in what punishment to impose on the soldiers. As a re ...

Ai to kanashimi to (1962)

1962 Japanese movie ...

Akitsu Hot Springs (1962)

Just after WW2, a romance between an innkeeper and a man with tuberculosis unravels near a thermal spring. ...

Kiriko no unmei (1962)

1962 Japanese movie ...

Flower in a Storm (1962)

1962 Japanese movie. ...

This Year's Love (1962)

Hikaru and Ichiro are close friends in high school. Hikaru's elder brother Tadashi fell in love with Ichiro's elder sister, Mikako at first sight. Although she gave the cold shoulder to Tadashi, she gradually became fond of Tadashi. ...

A Roaring Trade (1962)

Love's Family Tree (1961)

The Estuary (1961)

Enraptured (1961)

A promising dancer asks her professor to write a libretto for a Nō play. He then introduces her to a student of classical literature, but also a classical theatre student in the hope that the latter will marry Senya.. ...

Women of Tokyo (1961)

Uzu (1961)

1961 Japanese movie ...

Hunting Rifle (1961)

Story of a woman, Saiko, who divorces her doctor husband when she is given a baby by a stranger who claims it is the husband's child. Saiko embarks on an affair with her cousin's husband, but a crisis threatens when she discovers that her ex-husband is abo ...

Late Autumn (1960)

A woman and her daughter are each forced to contend with an increasing pressure to marry, particularly from three men who knew her late husband. ...

A Woman’s Uphill Slope (1960)

Tradition and modernity clash when a young woman inherits a sweet-making firm in Kyoto. ...

Hot Corner Murder (1960)

Prosecutor Takayama investigates the sudden death of a third baseman in the middle of a game. ...

Spring Dreams (1960)

When a wealthy, selfish family decides to take care of an elderly hobo who collapsed near their home, they are beset by visits from his numerous friends. ...

Tokyo Omnibus (1959)

The story tells of Tsuchiya, a university professor and a widower who is in love with a widow who runs a small restaurant, and his son is in love with a runaway girl who turns out to be the leader of a religious sect. Kusano is the henpecked proprietor of ...

Umi no Chizu (1959)

Akiko Mizushina, a university student, is in love with Keisuke Okazaki, a member of the rugby team at the same university. Sugiura, a brilliant scholarly student, also has feelings for Akiko. During the summer vacation, Akiko thought she was enjoying the j ...

Bridge (1959)

A 1959 Yoshiaki Bansho adaptation of an Osaragi Jiro story. ...

Ai no Noutan (1959)

The Days of Evil Women (1958)

The common-law wife and daughter of a wealthy old man plot to murder him and steal his fortune, with the help of their male acquaintances. ...

Yagyu Secret Scrolls: Ninjitsu - Part II (1958)

In the Tokugawa Era, the clan of Lord Yagyu has hidden away three scrolls containing clan secrets which, if revealed, would cause revolution and disaster for the clan. The information is divided among the three scrolls, all of which must be possessed for t ...

The Adorable Trio (1957)

Japanese romantic comedy film. ...

When It Rains, It Pours (1957)

Tane, the lady proprietor of an inn for amorous couples, lives there with her three children. When her eldest daughter loses her fiancé due to the fact her mother is a mistress, her despair drives her to become a cabaret hostess. ...

Yagyu Secret Scrolls (1957)

In the Tokugawa Era, the clan of Lord Yagyu has hidden away three scrolls containing clan secrets which, if revealed, would cause revolution and disaster for the clan. The information is divided among the three scrolls, all of which must be possessed for t ...

The Face (1957)

A notorious abortion doctor fell down from a night train and he was dead. A man who knows the truth of this accident starts to chase a up-and-coming model. ...

Flowing (1956)

Otsuta is running the geisha house Tsuta in Tokyo. Her business is heavily in debt. Her daughter Katsuyo doesn't see any future in her mother's trade in the late days of Geisha. But Otsuta will not give up. This film portraits the day time life of geisha w ...

Women in Prison (1956)

The woman prison has a cast all with a story of their own and with no dull or routine day. There is an employee who is divorced after her husband had an affair. She loves the jailed criminals and almost sees them as family. One day at a workshop someone fa ...

Rebels on the High Sea (1956)

A film by Hiroshi Inagaki. ...

Scoundrel (1956)

Shirai Gonpachi (1956)

The film adaptation of the famous tragic love story of the young samurai Shirai Gonpachi and the beautiful courtesan Komurasaki. ...

Runaway Bride (1956)

Rainy Night Duel (1956)

Masahiko Koseki, a judo master, gets in several fights as a result of protecting a young woman. Despite his success, Koseki is expelled from his judo school because of his propensity for street fighting. He goes to work for a gangster named Joji, but when ...

Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)

A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight K ...

To Love and Forgive (1955)

Tomorrow I'll Be a Fire-Tree (1955)

The Lone Journey (1955)

Forced on the road by yakuza obligations, a man sets out on a reckless journey to Tsumagoi. Movie posters for local cinemas were often displayed at sento (public baths) too. The handwritten text on the bottom here announces the film will play at Hassen fo ...

Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)

After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region's finest school of fencing. To prove his valor and skill, he ...

House of Many Pleasures (1955)

Yoshida Denkichi does loses sight of his wife Chiyoko and daughter Toyoko during the war, and is taken in by a familiar woman, Oshige, and becomes the owner of "Fujimura" in the town of Hato. Eiko is a timid woman who hates Terada, a watchmaker who is obse ...

No Time for Tears (1955)

Coach Shimamura of the hapless Sparrows baseball team is pleased to obtain a hot new pitcher named Onishi. But when Onishi begins a romantic relationship with the coach's daughter Michiko, Shimamura becomes angry with the young man, lashing out at him when ...

Floating Clouds (1955)

A married Japanese forester during WWII is sent to Indochina to manage forests. He meets a young Japanese typist and promises to leave his wife. He doesn't and after the war, she turns up and the affair resumes. ...

Lovetide (1955)

An Ishiro Honda film. ...

A Man Among Men (1955)

Gangsters Ken and Maki are rivals in the ticket-scalping game. They make an uneasy truce, but Ken wrecks the truce by agreeing to fix a boxing match in which Maki has an interest in one of the fighters. After a terrible brawl, the two gangsters discover th ...

Wedding Season (1954)

Urban love comedy in which Koji Tsuruta, who works for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Parks and Greenery Department, plays love shepherd to a number of women, including his true love, Inako Arima. ...

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)

Struggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Miyamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior. ...

Yakuza bayashi (1954)

Makino Masahiro film starring Okada Mariko ...

Farewell Rabaul (1954)

A squadron of Japanese fighter pilots realise that they are never going to win the war when they understand that Japanese military tactics have little regard for life. Seeking the companionship of any woman who will have them, they spend their days indulgi ...

The Lovers (1953)

Comedy about a 50-something movie director, his new bride, a classical dancer, and his adult son and daughter and their loves. ...

Girls in the Orchard (1953)

Girls in the Orchard (1953) is about tension between the life of a family in a rural area with all the traditions (continuing family business, taking care of the land)-- and the modernity and lure of a life in the city. ...

White Fish (1953)

A family comprised of a man, woman and their only son is torn apart when the father, who is a doctor with his own clinic, is to go off to war. Soon the wife and the son are left without an update of his status and whether he is alive or not. With the clini ...

Bot-chan (1953)

1953 Toho adaptation of Natsume's novel. ...

The End of the Night (1953)

Walking home late one night, a down-on-his-luck sewage worker runs into a drunk businessman with a briefcase full of cash. His impulsive decision will lead to a long, dark night of the soul, while his lady love, a bar hostess, tries to cope with her sudden ...

An Edoite Judge (1953)

Period film about a feudal era judge living in Edo ...

Husband and Wife (1953)

A married couple looking for an apartment move in with the husband's co-worker, a widower. The husband becomes jealous of the widower and his wife. ...

My Wonderful Yellow Car (1953)

The Whisper of Spring (1952)

After graduating from a high school in the Seto Inland Sea, Koji, a childhood friend of Yaeko, went to Tokyo to enter university wearing a heartfelt sweater. ...

The Woman Who Touched the Legs (1952)

A screwball tale of a suspected "lady thief" and the detective who is on her trail, following her from Osaka to her home village, where she is going to hold a memorial service for her father. Of course, the detective falls in love with his prey. ...

Adolescence (1952)

Parent apathy to sexual education leads to various troubles for the young cast. ...

Kin no tamago: Golden Girl (1952)

Once an average and seemingly ordinary Tokyo girl, she suddenly finds herself as a TV star owing to her discovery by a casting company, which noticed photographs that her cousin had sent. When another actress falls ill she is given the role instead. Her fi ...

Dancing Girl (1951)

The troubled relationship between a writer and his ballet teacher wife, who has for years loved another man, finally leads to the breakup of the family. ...

Coup d'Etat (1973)

A freestyle biopic of Ikki Kita, the ultranationalist intellectual whose ideas inspired the failed military coup in 1936. ...

Akitsu Hot Springs (1962)

Just after WW2, a romance between an innkeeper and a man with tuberculosis unravels near a thermal spring. ...